Écotable: the beauty of sustainability on our plates

It is not a secret that Plastic Free Certification likes to sit at the table.

When dishes and food tell the story of a common journey towards an idea of sustainable cuisine, then pleasure becomes participation. 

This is how the meeting of Plastic Free Certification with Écotable took place: two missions that intertwine and offer prospects for dialogue and projects on the horizon. 

Who, how, why? 

Écotable is an organization that has been accompanying the ecological transition of French restaurants since January 2019. The goal is to reduce the environmental impact of the entire catering sector, responsible for about 14% of food waste. 

Restaurateurs acknowledging they have a part in this process need help to minimize their environmental impact: it is necessary to recognize the critical issues to be solved, to enhance the good practices implemented for the sustainability of the entire supply chain and to be included in a network of like-minded restaurateurs. That is the function of Écotable. 

Écotable analyzes and trains, puts together, enriches and informs.

The one adopted by Écotable is a 360-degree approach: there is a detailed list of criteria according to which restaurants are able to trace a defined profile of their environmental footprint throughout the supply chain and to identify actions that can be implemented to cut emissions and increase the value of their environmental responsibility. 

Standard indicators range from the supply of raw materials, the analysis of the menu offered, origin and type of non-food products and natural resources up to the examination of waste management and general communication to customers. 

It is a journey throughout the supply chain up to the table, and restaurateurs are then assigned a grade corresponding to their level of commitment to sustainability. 

Écotable realized a complex, fertile network offering scientific articles, podcasts on food eco-responsibility, trainings and the Impact par Écotable platform, a database for sharing information, good practices and contacts of suppliers and service providers committed to the issue of sustainability with regard to the supply of raw materials, reduction of food waste, waste management and green energy.

Plastic Free Certification is proud and enthusiastic to undertake a shared path with Écotable in promoting a more sustainable catering industry.